By
George Brozowski
I've
said it before and I find that I must say it again;
Thank God for the eccentric, idle rich. Because of them we
have some of the finest spirits produced today, great new
Tequilas, Rums, Scotches and Vodkas and now even Gin. These
are folks, in this particular case, just like Martin
Miller who one night while sipping all sorts of bad
Gin with friends up and decided that none of it was to his
liking and so he decided right then and there to make his
own damn Gin.
Martin
Miller it turns out is a man upon whom the splendors
of the Edwardian era have not been totally forgotten. I do
believe he would have fit right in with those idle rich Englishmen
of yore going about digging up mummies in Egypt, riding elephants
in India and of course looking for Dr. Livingston in Africa
all the while documenting their adventures in pseudo-scientific
journals.
Miller's
home is located on the corner of Hereford Road and Westbourne
Grove in merry old England and has been described as (shades
of Sherlock Holmes) a cluttered country house and as rumor
would have it, much like the inside of its proprietors head.
I am led to believe all the hype surrounding this gentleman
as accompanying the bottle of Gin I received was a $20.00
hard bound book with full color photos printed on fine paper
back grounding him and his friends and of course his Gin.
The first photo in that book is a picture of him with long
flowing gray hair wearing a ruffled Edwardian shirt and surrounded
by a couple dozen people who look like they just left an Andy
Warhol party. Eccentric doesn't even begin to describe the
scene.
Needless
to say Miller wanted his Gin to be something special and worthy
of his palate so he decided to source Juniper from Tuscany
and India, Cassia Bark from China, Angelica from France and
Florentine Iris from Florence and more secret goodies from
other exotic locales. And of course he gets his water from
Iceland and the whole process comes together under the watchful
eyes of Icelandic Elves and Virgin maidens. With all that
voodoo going on this stuff better be good so let's give it
a taste drive.
The
nose is mellow with juniper up front and a rich and minty
mélange of other botanicals in the background. There
is very little to no alcohol permeating this blend adding
to its overall pleasant effect, nicely done. This palate may
be one of the most pleasant surprises any gin has ever delivered.
Generally gin is not intended to be consumed straight up but
instead immediately blended with tonic or anything else that
will calm down the intensity of the botanicals and alcohol
but this stuff is scarily smooth right from the get go. You
could actually enjoy this gin straight up from a snifter which
is exactly what I am doing right now. The nose and the palate
blend beautifully together to create a very smooth and soothing
experience quite rare for any gin. The finish is rich in juniper
and fruit and mint and vanilla and just like the experience
on the palate very smooth and lasts a fairly good while which
is really quite nice since the flavors welcomingly linger
in the mouth leaving a very nice aftertaste. Up until now
I truly believed there was only one worthwhile gin on the
planet and now, much to my pleasure there is more than one,
and this one just might supplant that other one. Yes Martin
Miller, unlike you I thought there was one good gin out there
whereas you believed there were none and I am so glad you
thought what you did because if you hadn't you wouldn't have
created this wonderful gin. Someday I will have to have a
head to head show down between this one and that one but that's
for another day and another column. Now I really have to try
this with some tonic. (Try
these other cocktails as well.)
Diluted
in tonic the juniper still comes to the front but more subtly
and the other botanicals become muted but still present in
the nose. The palate becomes a gentle blend of juniper, vanilla
and other blended botanicals that continue to imbibe this
spirit with all the gin like qualities it requires without
being overbearing and without being understated, I'd have
to say just about right. The finish is smooth and clear and
enriched with fruity flavor that now lingers just a short
but worthwhile time. This is a gin worth drinking and enjoying.
It would seem that the idle rich have not been so idle after
all.
You
can get this super premium gin for a reasonable $30.00 per
750ml bottle and it's worth it. It's won quite a number of
awards. Now I normally don't place a whole lot of stock in
those award competitions but I have personally participated
in the San Francisco World Spirit Competition and I can vouch
that they are top notch, very tough and have inter galactic
participation and Martin Miller has won double gold's for
his gin three times among other competitive accolades. Enjoy!!
For
more Rants & Raves click
here.
www.martinmillersgin.com/
